Improvement in cultivators



C. C. 'ST'EARNS.

Wheel Cultivator.

No. 39,428. Patented Aug. 4, I863.

NFETERS, PNoTO-LITHOGRAPMER. WASHlNGTON D O.

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

01 o. STEARNS, or HOMER, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CULTIVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,428, dated August 4, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, O. O. STEARNS, of Homer, in the county of Champaign and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Corn- Oultivator; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a plan or top view of my invention; Fig. 2, a side sectional view of the same, taken in the line 00 m, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detached back view of a portion of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts inthe several figures.

This invention relates to an improved corncultivator of that class in which gang-plows are employed for plowing two rows of corn simultaneously.

The invention consists in the employment or use of two frames attached to a mounted frame, and arranged in such a manner that they may be raised and lowered without the aid of levers and retained in proper position by means of suitable catches.

To make those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, 1 will proceed to describe it.

A represents an axle, having a wheel, B, at each end; and O is a draft-pole, which is attached centrally to the axle. D D are parallel bars, which are secured to the axle A at right angles, and connected at their front ends by a cross-bar, E, thelatter being bolted to the draftpole, as shown ata.

F F are bars which are placed directly over the bars D D, and are connected at their front ends by joints or hinges b b to the cross-bar E, said joints or hinges allowing the bars F to rise and fall freely in vertical planes. The bars D D have each a guide, G, attached to them, said guides being composed of two uprights, a 0, connected by bolts (1, an upright being at each side of a bar, D. (See Fig. 3.) The bars F pass through the guides G, which, while allowing them to be moved up and down,

retain them in vertical planes. Each bar F has two curved standards, 6 0, attached to it, one at each side, and each standard 6 has a plow, H, secured to its lower end.

1 is the drivers seat, which is attached to a horizontal bar, J, slotted longitudinally at its end, as shown atf, to admitofascre\v,g, passing 7 through it into the draft-pole 0. By this arrangement the drivers seat I may be adjusted more or less forward or backward, as the driver may require.

K is a foot-piece, attached to the back end of the draft-pole O for the driver to press his feet against.

When the plows are in operation the bars F are retained in proper position by means of catches L, which are formed of metal plates, pivoted in the guides G, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. These plates are so pivoted that their lower ends will by'gravity only adjust themselves over the bars F, and at any time when the bars Frequire to be raised the driver presses with his feet against the upper ends of the plates, and thereby releases the bars F from the plates, so that said bars may be raised by a direct application of the hands of the driver. Thus it will be seen all levers are avoided for elevating the plows, and an extremely simple device obtained for the desired purpose, one that may be readily manipulated by the driver, and which will be under his perfect control.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The rising and falling bars F, having plows H attached to them, in connection with the guides Gr, provided with the catches L, the above parts being arranged, as shown, with the bars D D, attached to the axle A, and crossbar E, as and for the purpose set forth.

G. O. STEARNS.

Vitnesses:

W. A. CONKEY, L. A. DAVIS. 

